The Gender War
by CrossTycoon
Summary: 1984 JE (Julian Era). the Feminist International began the ten-year Second World War with the double Invasion of the Low Countries and Italy. Miho Nishizumi and her crewmates fight for their motherland, even as they remain doubtful to the Femintern's intentions and persecutions. Collaboration with K9catforce, or soIheardyoulikepanzers, depending on how you know him. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Warning: The term "Feminist" in this fic refers to an imaginary extremist and militaristic version of a women-centric totalitarian government and in NO way represents the author's opinions on feminism proper.**

**This fic was written in collaboration with K9catforce, or soIheardyoulikepanerzers, and it spawned from his admittance that on the same night he viewed a pic of some German uniformed girls advance towards a village, he dreamed of a totalitarian government run by and for girls.**

* * *

_Glory? Do you see glory in this husk of a city? Among the rubble, the blood, the bodies? Do you realize what this place might have looked like before we were ordered to seize it for the well-being of the state? Children running in the streets kicking a ball between them, the coffee shops full of pedestrians, and the gardens tended to with gentle care; cars trying to pass through the narrow streets here and there. The Femintern Parties can go burn in hell – they would love to bathe in the product of their work, after all._

_-Miho Nishizumi, commander of the 1__st__ company of the 515__th__ Heavy Panzer Battalion, to her loader Yukari Akiyama, 1987._

* * *

"Men are animals! Their perverse, depraved, and corrupt decadence have brought this pure, gifted world to ruin; they are the true cause of the Great Depression that has gripped the nations! Each day, their filth brings down the order and justice of the state into lower and lower gutters! This must be corrected! The Female Race, the righteous, the sensible sex must rise to the challenge and cleanse this world of the unclean! The evils of the Y-chromosome must be contained in designated lands, separated from the civilized world! Only when the subhuman Male Race is culled and controlled can civilization progress forward again! The world must be fused as One Nation, One Gender, and One Order! When the glory of the Female Race is realized, the Eternal Utopia will come forth!"

That was the rallying cry of the Femintern Alliance, a coalition of the militant feminist-driven totalitarian regimes that had its origins in the ranks and was an offshoot of the Bolsheviks, in the decade of war that followed in the 1984-1994 JE (Julian Era). The Femintern's reality was organized into the Union of Feminist Progressive Republics, comprised mainly of Feminist Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary and North China. With their economies somewhat stabilized by nationalization of industries and mass employment of the unemployed by the arms industry and the military and emboldened by the inactivity of the Entente, the Femintern Alliance sparked the Second World War on August 19, 1984 with the invasions of the Low Countries and Italy.

The Entente, still reeling from the effects of the Great War, the Spanish Flu, and the Great Depression, only managed to begin rearming by 1980, and its armies were still poorly equipped, with new and good designs few and far in between. A few Entente nations even refrained from joining their allies in the war in the opening months and years. Nevertheless, with the war in full swing, the Entente – now comprising of Britain, France, Italy, the USA, South China, Japan and a host of other nations – was able to mobilize itself into nations fully committed into total war. The next ten years were marked by bloodshed, war crimes, and complete deletions of entire cities where fighting were the fiercest. At the War's end, the death toll ranged from 40 to 70 million people. After the Femintern was dissolved by the Treaty of Buckingham Palace – the world-famous Versailles having been thoroughly destroyed during the Battle for Paris – the former member states had to contend with a rapidly declining population and a highly negative birth rate; Germany in particular having to resort to the infamous "Birth Rate and Polygamy Act" to ensure a stable population growth and the return of men back into the country after their systematic suppression and extermination.

But this book is not a documentary of the alliances, battles, maneuvers, strategies and weapons each army fielded; many more very qualified experts have wrestled with the grad strategies of the Second World War, or as some call it, the Gender War. Instead, this book recounts the events that a certain unit, and especially a certain team went through during the decade of the earth scorched in flames; this is the story of Major Miho Nishizumi and her soldiers of the 515th Heavy Panzer Battalion.


	2. Replacement loader, name: Yukari Akiyama

_In response to the unexpectedly heavily armoured Entente tanks, any . IV units not currently engaged were immediately pulled to the rear and were upgraded with a long-barreled 5cm KwK 39 L/60 gun. The frontal hull and turret armour was also increased to 50mm by bolting on 20mm of applique armour; the resulting version was given the suffix Ausf. D/L (Lange, meaning long, for the new long-barreled gun). However, heavy fighting that continued to take place all along the line during the summers of 1985 meant that not many were available for the conversion, and the few that were available were grouped into independent battalions to go wherever they were needed._

_-Evolution of German Armour During the Gender War, Doyle Henderson._

* * *

**-Outskirts of Amiens, France**-

Panzeroberschütze Yukari Akiyama looked at her assignment paper once again. As it did the last time she read it on the train, it ordered her to reach and join the newly-formed 12th Independent Panzer Battalion as the replacement loader for the famous Lady Miho Nishizumi herself!

In front of her was the checkpoint to the battalion's camp; rows of tents and hastily-built garages housed the people and the tanks of the unit, protected by a wall of sandbags placed strategically to give the defenders an interlocking field of fire. The camp was also set in an open plain, miles away from any treeline; no ambushes were going to take this unit by surprise. In front of it all was the guard's box; the guard was fiddling with a newspaper and a pencil, not paying the slightest attention to the entrance. In fact, she hadn't even realized that Yukari was there. With a sigh, Yukari walked up to the white-painted box, knocked on the wood, and placed her paper on the ledge for the guard to assess.

The guard to her credit immediately tucked away the newspaper and scrutinized the document, making sure all the details made sense. Soon enough, she satisfied herself, and said, "Go ahead, the Oberleutnant has been waiting on the replacement for a while now. Third garage from the front."

At that, Yukari very nearly _skipped_ to where her commander was.

"So, you're the replacement…" Oberleutnant Nishizumi asked, continuing after she glanced down to the paper to read the name, "Yukari Akiyama?"

"Yes, lady Nishizumi!" Yukari answered eagerly, not breaking from the crisp salute she gave to her new commander.

The driver's hatch for the Pz. IV opened, revealing a long black-haired, and frankly rather sluggish girl. She stared at Yukari for a minute before asking to Lady Nishizumi, "The replacement?"

"It seems so, Mako. Come say hello to her," Lady Nishizumi told the driver.

The driver approached Yukari until their noses almost touched. After a blank look, she backed off and offered her hand, introducing herself simply, "Mako. Mako Reizei." Yukari shook her hand, and the driver, Ms. Reizei, walked off towards one of the larger tents; one that had a fire pit behind it, on which a pig was being roasted.

Lady Nishizumi turned back to her and informed her as she returned the salute, "Welcome to the 12th Independent Panzer Battalion. Or, that's what I'd like to say, but this is a newly formed outfit made from existing units, so we're all new here," she gave a slight giggle, "Still, welcome to my tank. And you may drop the 'Lady', formality only slows things down. You may call me Nishizumi. Or even Miho, if you want; I don't mind."

"Y-yes, sir! In the name of the Femintern Party, I will do my utmost to serve the battalion!" Yukari exclaimed in ecstasy, standing ramrod straight.

L-Nishi-Miho did something puzzling. She looked away for a moment, eyes sagging in sadness, before recovering its cheerful state. "Follow me; it's almost time for lunch, and I still need to introduce you to the rest of the tank's crew. And you still need to report in to the Major and the rest of the battalion."


	3. The Big Push?

_The rapid movement continues after the breakthrough in the line we had a week ago in the beginning of autumn. We're already within artillery range of the edge of Paris, and some Panzer Divisions have gone further. Entente tank forces seem to be thinning out; I wish the same could be said for their Paks and AT rifle squads. Still, we only lost a few tanks and assault guns during the many engagements since the breakthrough. Yukari, the new loader, seems to have fit in well after she joined up. Rumour has it that the 12__th__ will be committed to infantry support for the anticipated battle for Paris. Hopefully that's not true; I would hate to lose half the battalion from an ambush from a second story window, and Major Chouno would have a fit at the casualty reports._

_-Excerpt from the Oberleutnant Miho Nishizumi's diary._

* * *

"Cruiser down! That's another kill!"

"Hana, new target! Bren Carrier, 2 o'clock! Yukari, load HE! Mako, angle us against it; it's got an AT rifle and I don't want to risk anything," Oberleutnant Miho ordered her crew, not stopping between shooting and searching for new targets; Mako the driver relocated or angled them to give Hana the best chance at all the kills, and Saori, the radio operator, informed the other tanks in the area of their targets.

"Up!" Yukari yelled, straining to be heard above the gunfire and the engine.

Their 5cm gun barked, sending a frankly unimpressive HE shell downrange. Still it was good enough for a Bren Carrier, and the open-top vehicle exploded, its machine gun and Boys AT rifle no longer a threat to the advancing Feminist troops. With the last emplaced machine guns taken care of by the StuGs' stubby 7,5cm guns, the infantry stormed the village houses, finishing off the garrisoned Anglo-French soldiers.

"Miho, the infantry says there's a B1 bis dug in in a hill outside the village; they can't get close to it because there's no cover."

Miho tsked. That iron box was going to be trouble. If they weren't careful, they could very well end up being killed, along with the following lighter vehicles. If there was a way to flank it so they could have a shot at the side, especially the air intakes, but that was impossible given the exposed land between the village and the reported Renault's location. On the other hand…just because a tank was there didn't mean they were the ones who had to kill them. Yes, that could work.

"Saori, see if you can raise Major Chouno on the radio," Miho instructed her radio operator, "let's get the jabos to do their jobs and knock out the fortified strongpoint."

"Sure, just give me some time and quiet!" Saori responded. She went about contacting the Major, who contacted whoever she needed to get some stukas on the B1, relaying the exact coordinate from the infantry who made the discovery and warning them to clear the area before the bombs started falling. Five tank kills in five days were enough for any commander; no need to try to do everything on your own.

* * *

"Hnnng….that was exhausting! Here's an idea for new tanks: why don't we get a roomier compartment? I swear I start getting numb after an hour inside!" Saori exclaimed as she stretched herself as soon as she jumped off the hull of the Pz. IV ausf. D/L and onto the village's dirt road.

"That would certainly be useful," Yukari chimed in, "those 5cm shells aren't heavy, but reaching them can be a pain."

"Then maybe you could send a letter suggesting that to Krupp," Hana suggested.

Saori scoffed. "As if they would listen to the ramblings of a lone girl, even if she's a soldier fighting in the front line."

"You girls go ahead and eat first; I'll report to the Major and join you girls." Miho suggested to her crew who agreed, heading to the nearest house that was cleared of Entente troops' bodies, taking care not to step on any male-dominant corpses. She made her way to the village's church – commandeered by Major Chouno as their HQ – in front of which a staff car was parked and engineers were busy laying cable.

* * *

Miho felt her body freeze. "So…it's been decided?"

"It was a decision from the higher-ups," Chouno commented sadly, "we will be committed into it. Everyone and every tank of the battalion will take part in the attack."

"We will at least have a lot of infantry to cover us, right?"

"That we are assured of."

"Well…I suppose I should inform my platoon, ma'am. May I leave?"

"Go ahead. The faster they find out, the better. And remind your platoon to stock up on HE ammunition; that goes for the Pz. IVs as well as the StuGs."


End file.
